The IRS has provided important transition relief for many 403(b) plans struggling with an apparent change in IRS positions on a critical issue: how should 403(b) plans treat part-time employees who sometimes work more than 20 hours a week and sometimes work fewer? Recently issued Notice 2018-95 clarifies that what the IRS is calling “the […]

The IRS just released the cost of living adjustments for various retirement plan limitations that will take effect on January 1, 2019. Many of the limits will be increasing for 2019. The key limits that increased (shown below in bold italics) include the compensation that is taken into account for plan purposes, the salary deferral […]

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued proposed regulations (the “Proposal”) on October 22, 2018, that represent the first major step in changing its restrictions on multiple employer plans (“MEPs”). However, it is just the first step, and does not change the landscape for Open MEPs. The Proposal was issued in response to the President’s August […]

On September 28, 2018, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2018-52, the latest version of the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“EPCRS”), the IRS’s comprehensive procedures for correcting retirement plan errors. Using this procedure, retirement plan sponsors may fix mistakes in their qualified plans, 403(b) plans, 403(a) retirement annuities, SEPs, and SIMPLEs. Although they are not […]

The last few years have seen several changes in the rollover rules. With that in mind, the IRS just released new safe harbor special tax notices under Internal Revenue Code (Code) §402(f) for plans to use with distribution packages. For those who relish “IRS-speak,” the release is in Notice 2018-74. The IRS issued the last […]

As we discussed in our FlashPoint entitled, “Did the 5th Circuit Kill the Fiduciary Rule?” on March 15, 2018, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary regulations and the related prohibited transactions in relation to investment advice. (For purposes of this FlashPoint, we will call these the “New […]

This update is published by Ferenczy Benefits Law Center to provide information about recent developments to our clients and friends. It is intended to be informational and does not constitute legal advice for any particular situation. It also may be considered to be “attorney advertising” under the rules of certain states. Ferenczy FlashPoint: Did […]

Note to self: do not turn the light out for the night if Congress just passed a budget act and you haven’t gone looking for benefits provisions. Yes, the new Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (the “Budget Act”), passed by Congress on Thursday, February 8, and signed on the morning of February 9 by President […]

Forgive us if we don’t sing the praises of the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for the most recent update to the Voluntary Correction Program (“VCP”) fee schedule. A number of articles have been published since the release of Revenue Procedure (“Rev. Proc.”) 2018-4, expressing enthusiasm about the reduction of the fees for mega-corporations that […]

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—actually the name the Senate Parliamentarian insisted on is “An act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018”— (“New Law”) was passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the President on December 22,2017. Those […]

The IRS just released the cost of living adjustments for various retirement plan limitations that will take effect on January 1, 2018. Many of the limits will be increasing for 2018. The Consumer Price Index, on which these limits are based, went up 2.2% during the prior twelve months. The key limits that increased (shown […]

Studying For ASPPA’s DC-1 Exam? Want To Kick Off Your Studies for DC-1? Need A Good Survey Course About DC Plans? Need A Good Refresher On DC Plans? NEED CEs? IT DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!!! Attend in Person in Atlanta OR Live Stream (Not just a webcast, but a broadcast of speakers […]

We realize that we have been off the grid somewhat for the past few months, but are glad to be back in publication and here to catch you up on the happenings in the benefits world. Hurricane Relief Attached here is a chart outlining the various relief measures taken by the government for victims of […]

As you may remember from a prior FlashPoint (see “DOL Delays Fiduciary Rules,” Flashpoint 4/5/17), the Department of Labor (DOL) delayed the applicability date of the new Fiduciary Rule (“Rule”) from April 10, 2017, to June 9, 2017. This delay was in response to a memorandum issued by President Trump, directing the DOL to do […]

We worked recently on an interesting matter that has rather far-reaching consequences for some sponsors of defined benefit and cash balance (collectively, DB) plans. Our client, a financial advisor to some retirement plans and mostly individuals, and a sponsor of a DB plan for employees at his firm, was recently audited by the IRS. During […]

As expected, the Department of Labor (DOL) has extended the applicability date of the new fiduciary/conflict of interest regulation from April 10 to June 9. The new rule also extends the applicability of the Best Interest Contract Exemption (BICE) interim applicability. What does this mean? First of all, for those of you who were struggling […]

We are accustomed to change in this industry, but things seem to be moving quite quickly on several fronts. In this issue of the FlashPoint, we will bring you up to date as to where we stand on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule changes, and also clarify the IRS’s new policy on hardship […]

We hope everyone is enjoying their new year, and that there is relatively mild weather where you live. We had our annual snowstorm scare here in Atlanta two weeks ago, with warnings from the press about everything from getting off the roads early to making sure you have baby food in your cabinets. It snowed […]

The IRS just released the cost of living adjustments for various retirement plan limitations that will take effect on January 1, 2017. Most of the limits will not be increasing for 2017. The Consumer Price Index, on which these limits are based, went up on 3% during 2016. However, there were some limits that increased […]

This is the third and final part to our “Practical Review” of the new fiduciary rules issued by the Department of Labor (D OL). This installment will look at how the rules have been accepted by the benefits com m unity and what we hear or think practitioners are doing to prepare for compliance. (Of […]

The IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2016-37 (the “Procedure”) at the end of June, which significantly affects individually designed plans (“IDPs”) and has some ramifications for pre approved documents, such as prototypes and volume submitter documents.

Thank you for your patience in awaiting this second part to our review of the new Fiduciary rules issued by the Department of Labor. This installment will look at the potential for self-dealing if you are an advice fiduciary, and how the Best Interest Contract Exemption (BICE) can help. As with Part I, our goal […]

Understanding that there may be some situations in which the looming April 30 restatement deadline cannot be met by some adopters of defined contribution pre-approved plan documents, the IRS got the jump on providing practitioners with assistance for resolving these nonamender problems. Nonamenders: Big Trouble! A failure to restate the plan on a timely basis […]

Okay, here is the FBLC take on the new DOL fiduciary regulations. As in the past with prior proposals, we have broken our response into different parts. Today’s information will look to give just some broad rules and structure of the Regulation, itself, which defines what makes someone an advice fiduciary and what that means. […]